From the time I wrote my very first book, I dreamed of being able to create drawings of the characters. Words can only hint at a person’s appearance. Images get a lot closer. It’s always exciting for me when Andreas works on my covers, since it helps gives the characters form. Sadly, many characters never make it on the covers or aren’t prominently displayed there. With that in mind. I commissioned Andreas to create a new series of images depicting five different characters from the Something Like… saga. The results are pretty damn neat. Every day for the remainder of the week, I’ll be revealing one here on my blog… starting right now!

The idea for this series came from the awesome Benjamin Bentley illustration above. Andreas created this to help promote Something Like Fall, so we’re counting him as the first in the series. Originally I had asked Andreas to touch up the image of Ben from the back of the Summer cover—perhaps put some leaves in his hair or something silly like that. Instead, he redrew the image from scratch. The posture is mostly the same as the one from the cover, seen to the left, which makes a nice tribute. What I especially like about this illustration is the subtle hint of warm light on the face, like Ben is staring off into a summer sunset. The image looks pretty snappy on a T-shirt and will be available as such on Sunday. For the shirts, Andreas and I thought it would be fun to go with a team theme. There’s been plenty of playful declarations from people who are Team Jace or Team Tim, but why not Ben? I’m totally Team Ben. Why else would I have given him two of the greatest guys imaginable?

Shirts are fun, but what I’m really excited about is a nifty set of art cards that will be available soon. Technically they are post cards, but I’m calling them art cards because I can’t imagine you guys mailing these to anyone. The characters are on a neutral background which really makes them pop, and the flip side features a carefully chosen quote from the related book. In addition to the five character cards, there’s a special sixth card which I’ll be signing. Like the new T-shirts, these will go on sale on Sunday. You can win a set of all six cards right now though. All you have to do is guess which character I’ll be revealing tomorrow. Leave your answer in the comments below to qualify. One guess (one character name) per person please. I’ll reply to the winner when they guess correctly, but if you weren’t fast enough, we’ll be playing the same game every day this week. See you tomorrow!

Tongues and ears. That’s the news of the day. The tongue part is pretty exciting, because Something Like Summer can now be read in German and French, in addition to the English and Italian versions already out there. I’ve set up a new page on my site right here where you can see the different options and accompanying cover art. The Italian version is available as an eBook, which is new, so if you passed it up in the name of saving the rainforests, you can now experience the story guilt-free. Please help spread the word about these foreign editions, because I’d love to see the other books in the series translated. That way the entire story can be told.

If your ears are in need of a treat, the audiobook of Something Like Autumn is hot off the turntable! As you can imagine, the narrator had a difficult task ahead of him when starting work on this one. Even printed in black and white, it’s an emotional story, and I hoped that would be conveyed in audio as well. Not surprisingly, Kevin R. Free rose to the challenge. All those crucial moments are performed with class and finesse. You’ll find a sample below, but I’m betting if you’ve heard the other two audios in the series, you won’t need much convincing. Er… I’m boasting about the narrator’s skill. Not my own. I’m not that full of myself. The audiobook of Something Like Autumn can be found at Audible, Amazon, and iTunes.

Next up, Something Like Lightning! We’re entering the final stretch, so you probably won’t hear much from me until the big day arrives. Until then, be good to each other!

Can you smell the freshly-bloomed flowers? Feel the sun warming your cheeks? Well you should, because Something Like Spring has arrived! I could give you guys a big sales pitch, but really, if you’re here and have read the other three books, hopefully you don’t need any convincing. Those that do can check out the product page for a little more info and some sample chapters. Otherwise, you can grab the paperback or the Kindle version from Amazon. And of course it’s also available for the Nook or iBooks or anything else. As always, head on back here when you’ve finished and tell me what you thought. Or better yet, tell the whole world by leaving a review somewhere.

To celebrate all four books being out, Andreas has come up with a couple new goodies. One is a big ol’ poster featuring the cover art in seasonal order. We’ve got one of these hanging on our wall in the office and the colors are wonderfully vibrant. There’s also a new T-shirt with a quote that should be familiar to you all. What better way to show the world you’re a proud mariposa, or to get guys to call you a beautiful butterfly? All this and more can be picked up from our RedBubble store. I also show off the new shirt and the poster in the video below.

Happy reading everyone. Thank you for your continued support! As soon as I’m done typing this sentence, I’m going to close my eyes and pretend I’m making out with each and every one of you!

The votes have been tallied in the M/M Romance Member’s Choice Awards, and you guys were good to me once again. Something Like Autumn won a stunning six awards! In which categories? How about Favorite All Time M/M Romance? Or Best Book of the Year? And then there’s the award for Best Tear Jerker. It’s a little crazy that this occupation rewards you for making people cry, but I’m not complaining! Autumn also landed awards in the Best Long Story, Contemporary, and Young Adult categories. These awards are powered by your votes, which makes them tremendously special to me. Thank you guys so much for being generous, awesome, and kind. I love you too!

Upon hearing the news this morning, I thought it would be nice to give something back. Spring was supposed to come out mid-February, but after some number crunching and some terrified glances in the mirror, I decided I can get it published even sooner. The official release date for Something Like Spring is January 30th. Mark those calendars, or better yet, sign up for my newsletter on the left and I’ll send you a reminder on the big day. You can also pre-order the Nook version here, the iBooks version here, and other eBook formats here.

Since there’s less than a month until the book is released, let’s take a closer look at what the story is all about. What better way to do so than to examine the cover? Andreas’s art will provide a few hints, and of course there’s that big ol’ back cover blurb. I’ll let these things speak for themselves. After all, I’ve got a book to publish!

Happy Birthday, Tim Wyman! Now please move out of the spotlight because there’s a new guy in town. Speculation has been rampant over who the main character in Something Like Spring will be. When I announced it would be an all new character, I should have been more specific and said a newly invented character. My easily misinterpreted statement led some to believe that “new” meant anyone but Ben, Tim, or Jace. Many people thought Eric would be getting his own book, or even Victor or Ryan. I’m afraid this isn’t the case. The season of spring brings with it a fresh start, so it seemed appropriate that we would meet someone we’d never had before.

Why? Well, we’ve already gotten into Ben, Tim and Jace’s heads, and seen each character from the perspective of a person who loves them, or in some cases, a person competing with them. Those are all very intimate perspectives, which made me eager to see Ben and Tim through the eyes of a stranger. That stranger’s name is Jason Grant. I know the name doesn’t mean anything to you right now, but when you’ve finished reading Jason’s story, I hope he’ll become just as special to you as the other guys.

So what exactly is Something Like Spring about? Will Ben and Tim adopt a kid? Is that who Jason is? Not exactly. After three books, a definite theme has emerged for this series. Each book starts with a teenager on the verge of becoming an adult and takes us through their first great love. Then there are jumps in time, allowing us to see their life over multiple stages, with themes of love, loss, and death being tackled along the way. Something Like Spring will be no different, and yet, like each book in the series, it will very much be its own unique journey. But never fear, Spring does tie in with the other books. Rather than give us familiar scenes from a new perspective, this book is supported by a slew of characters from the previous three, and yes, we do get to see what happens to Ben and Tim after the events of Winter. While Jason isn’t an adopted child in the traditional sense, he’s very much the spiritual successor of one character… maybe two. I’ll let you discover who on your own.

That’s all I’m willing to reveal for now. Much work remains. With such a rich history to draw from, so many new characters to meet, and untold stories to explore, Spring is shaping up to be another fat book. It continues to be very exciting to write, and I hope that translates to a thrilling read for you guys. I can’t nail down a specific release date at this point, but Something Like Spring should be ready to go this winter. As usual, you can be notified the moment it’s released by signing up for my newsletter. The quick and easy form is on the left and down a little. Love you guys! Peace out!

It’s Tim Wyman’s birthday! Almost! To celebrate, in the week leading up to the big day, Something Like Summer will be on sale for a mere ninty-nine cents. Ninty-nine cents!!! “But Jay,” you are probably saying. “Why put Summer on sale when Winter is Tim’s book?” Well, my sexy little friend, the idea is to get more people reading this series, and we all know that Summer is a gateway drug to the other seasons. This is the perfect time to get your more stingy and skeptical friends to read one of the greatest gay love stories ever told. Tell them about the impending movie! Tell them about the sex scenes! The angst! The love! The arrrrgh! Ideally, by the time Something Like Spring is here, there will be so many Ben and Tim fans that Amazon’s servers crash on the day of release. So please please please spread the word about this sale. I’m not really going to make any money off it, but I would love for new folks to discover this story.

And speaking of Something Like Spring, on Tim’s actual birthday, I’ll be posting a blog entry revealing who the new main character is. I’ll also tell you what to expect from the latest, and perhaps final, installment in the series. So please come back on August 24th, Tim’s birthday, to help celebrate the hottest fictional guy in the universe. At least I think he is. *blush* Oh, and if you haven’t heard, we’ve got Something Like Summer shirts available and a slew of art for any sad barren walls. Check it all out here!

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Welcome!

Hi there! I'm Jay Bell, the guy who writes the Something Like... series. The first book, Something Like Summer, is soon to be a movie. I also wrote Kamikaze Boys, which is the tale of two guys versus the world. If you're wary of smooth talking indie authors, then you can check out Like and Subscribe for free. Or maybe you already love me as much as I love you. Boy, I sure hope so! Either way, take off your pants and get comfortable!